Travel insurance

[Old Hand]

I'm planning to sail down the St. Lawrence this summer to the Canadian east coast. I'm planning to stay north and in Canadian waters. I have allowed 4 months to complete this trip from Lake Ontario east and back. Would anyone suggest a travel insurance company to cover any unforeseen medical or evacuation costs? I'm in relative good health so that is not an issue. I talked to one company and they said no problem, would be happy to cover you, send a cheque, that was till I told the excited agent wait a minute, I want to take my own boat, not go on a cruise liner. Than it was.... we let me check with my manager. Nah don't think so....

What have others done. I did this trip but only to the Saguenay in Quebec on 2011 and didn't bother with insurance than. Now I'm looking into it again.

Anyone else on this list heading east this spring?

[DavidLGCrawford]

Last spring we took a trip from Toronto to Punta Cana and had to claim on our Manulife health insurance. It was the easiest and simplest insurance claim I have ever made. They covered everything up front and arranged it all. I only ever saw a bill when the final invoice (stamped "paid") arrived months later.
Now I know we went out of country and you are not, plus we were staying at a resort and you aren't. So I don't know if they will cover you. But if they do, it will be excellent coverage and service.

[Mike OReilly]

We're a year behind you, but planning the same journey, from L. Ontario to the Maritimes. But I don't understand what insurance you're looking for (and maybe I really don't understand). I gather you are an Ontarian, therefore covered under OHIP. You're remaining in Canada, so your provincial health care will cover you to the limits of OHIP coverage when you are in another province. I suppose that doesn't cover evacuation costs, but it will cover most medical bills, even out of Ontario.

What am I missing?

[DavidLGCrawford]

OHIP may not cover all the expenses out of province that it covers in province. A woman from Quebec recently got a $13, 000 bill from an injury in Manitoba that wasn't entirely covered (but would have been if it happened in Quebec). See the news article on CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...ills-1.2529943

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[Mike OReilly]

Yes, she ran into a polar bear ... not too many polar bears along the St. Lawrence .

Some (all?) provincial health plans don't cover air ambulance transfers. It's crazy, but true. OHIP does cover land transfers (with some limitations). If that's what the OP wants covered, I'd say that's a pretty low-probabilty concern. Given the journey he/she is embarking on, it would seem odd to worry about such a low-risk part of the equation, but I assume there are insurance companies out there who would take the OP's money to cover this.

[modaki]

We traveled from Georgian Bay to Nova Scotia, on our 30 ft sailboat, over a two year period 2012 and 2013. We had no additional medical insurance. OHIP we felt would cover us. We did explore CAA, and they would cover additional insurance. But our medical Doctor, advised us that the additional insurance was not needed. We have a blog if you wish to see what we explored modakisailors.blogspot.ca This yr we are returning to Nova Scotia in June and resuming our adventure to Maine, ICW, and Bahamas. Contact us if you wish ymcteer@gmail.com

[Old Hand]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will just hope that OHIP will cover me should I have any issues and hope I do not need any special coverage for air evacuation or anything silly like that.

[Niagara Les]

I'm not sure of the limitations, but we purchase a family coverage plan annually. It covers us for all of our adventures in the US when we travel there (often). Or so I hope.
I must say though, we have never tried to make a claim.
I will be looking into this, as we also have sailing plans over the next two years to end up with our boat in NS. We would really like to end up cruising Newfoundland. As I'm sure you're aware, there are more than a few remote outposts there, with little in the way of medical attention!
I honestly hadn't even thought about any of this until stumbling across your post. Thanks!

[BandB]

Originally Posted by Old Hand

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will just hope that OHIP will cover me should I have any issues and hope I do not need any special coverage for air evacuation or anything silly like that.

While I don't know what is offered in Canada, I would think the cost of purchasing some supplemental travel protection just to cover what your OHIP doesn't, would be fairly inexpensive. In the US there are both travel policies and major medical. Major medical just covers extraordinary expenses. I would check with a local insurance broker if concerned.